Dead end connector and connection for aluminum conductors



Feb. 4, 1969 E ANDERSQN 3,426,143

DEAD END CONNECTOR AND CONNECTION FOR ALUMINUM CONDUCTORS Filed Dec. 21, 1966 II. T:

INVENTOR. EMMETT E. ANDERSON M M li-wydw @112 United States Patent 6 Claims The present invention relates in general to dead end connections and connectors and more particularly to such devices which are used to support various aluminum type conductors.

It has proven to be a difficult problem in the art to provide a reliable and economical means of dead ending aluminum type conductors. Some of the problems involve the obtaining of a good grip between the conductor and the connector both from a mechanical standpoint as well as electrical. Another problem has to do with the relative softness of aluminum conductors and the possibility of damaging the strands when they are gripped. The conductors which are intended to be dead ended within the scope of this invention will be described generally as aluminum, however, Within this description will be included what is known in the art as ACSR cable (aluminum cable steel reinforced), ACAR cable (aluminum cable, aluminum alloy reinforced), as Well as AWAC cable (Alumoweld-which is in effect a steel wire with an aluminum coating-and aluminum wires in various combinations) and many varieties of cables made up of various aluminum alloys and aluminum coated steel strands such as Alumoweld.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dead end connection and a connector which conveniently, reliably and economically solve the problem of dead ending aluminum type conductors.

Another object of the present invention to provide a dead end connector which comprises an aluminum sleeve for receiving a conductor in one end and a tail piece conductor in the other end which conductors are separated by a barrier wall which connector contains a mixture of grease and grit therein and one end of the connector is swivelably connected to a clevis type piece or yoke which in turn is adapted to be pivotally connected to a support member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dead end connection which comprises an aluminum sleeve which receives an aluminum line conductor in one end and a short aluminum tail piece conductor in the other end, both of which are compression crimped in place and are separated by a barrier wall and with a grease and grit mixture also provided between the inner walls of the sleeve and the conductors and one end of the sleeve which is swivelably connected to a yoke or clevis which in turn is pivotally connected to a support member.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of this invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction With the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view partially in section of the dead end connection produced by the dead end connector shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view partially in section of the dead end connector of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view (double scale) taken generally along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1; and

'ice

FIGURE 5 is a view taken generally along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1.

The dead end connector of the present invention is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 and includes in combination a clevis member 12 which comprises first and second spaced and generally parallel side members 14 and 15 respectively which side members are integrally connected together at one of their ends by an end member 17, and wall means 19 are provided in the other ends of the side members 14 and 15 and serve to define aligned round openings.

A pivot pin or member 22 extends through these aligned holes or openings 19 and is secured in position with respect thereto by means of a head 23 on one end and a cotter pin 24 extending through an opening in the other end. As seen in FIGURES 1 and 5 the pivot pin 22 serves to pivotally connect the clevis member or yoke 12 to a support member 26. Wall means 28 serve to define another opening which opening extends through the end member 17 and in a direction generally normal or perpendicular to the axis of the pivot pin 22.

A generally cylindrically shaped aluminum connector member or sleeve 30 is provided which has first and second end portions 32 and 33 respectively. The first end portion of the connector member 30 extends freely through the opening 28 in the end member and is provided with a head 35 thereon which is larger than the opening 28 which prevents removal of the connector member in a direction away from the pivot member and clevis member. This particular connection permits rotation or turning of the connector member 30 about its own axis which when considered in conjunction with the pivot pin mounting of the clevis member, there is provided a construction which is in effect a universal joint. A washer member 37 is wedgingly located on the outer surface of the connector member 30 at the first end portion 32 of the connector member and on the opposite side of the end member 17 with respect to the head 35, to limit movement of the connector member in a direction toward the pivot member and clevis member. In other words, the head 35 and washer member 37 serve as the means of holding the connector member to the clevis member before a dead end connection is made.

The connector member 30 is provided with an axial opening 39 which extends thereinto from both the first and second end portions thereof which opening in each portion terminates at a barrier wall 41 located intermediate the extreme ends of the connector member. A grease and grit mixture 44 is located and provided in the axial opening on either side of the barrier wall and a plastic cover member 46 is utilized to close the axial openings at both the first an-d second end portions of the connector member. The plastic covers 46 serve to prvent the accidental loss of the grease and grit mixture or entrance of foreign matter from outside prior to making a connection with the dead end connector.

The grease and grit mixture may consist of many combinations of abrasive materials dispersed throughout a rather viscous moisture proof compound, however, for the sake of providing a specific example the compound may be a lithium mineral grease and the grit may comprise either silicon carbide or aluminum oxide particles.

The dead end connector 10 which has been described hereinabove is utilized to make the dead end connection which is illustrated in FIGURE 1. In order to make this particular connection an aluminum line conductor 50 is pushed into the axial opening in the connector member by rupturing or removing the plastic cover member 46 at the second end portion of the connector member and this line conductor 56 is pushed into the connector member until it meets or abuts the barrier Wall 41. During this process the grease and grit mixture 44 is extruded back along the walls of the sleeve or connector member and into the interstices of the strands of the conductor toward the opening through which the conductor was inserted. The outer surface of the connector member is then provided with a plurality of compression crimps 52 which are axially spaced from each other along the extent of the second end portion from the barrier wall 41 up to the extreme end thereof. This type of connection serves, in combination with the greast and grit mixture, to provide an excellent mechanical and electrical bond between the aluminum conductor and the inner walls of the connector member. The specific aluminum conductor member which has been illustrated herein has been what is known in the art as an ACSR conductor of 6 over 1 construction, which is made up of a composite of individual conductors specifically six aluminum conductors surrounding a central steel conductor. Some other ACSR are constructed with combinations of aluminum to steel for example 7 aluminum over 1 steel, 18 over 1, 26 over 7, and 30 over 7.

A tail piece conductor 55 is next extended into the axial opening at the first end portion sleeve 30 and it likewise is inserted into the opening until it meets the barrier wall 41. The grease and grit mixture in this end portion also is distributed or extruded in like manner. The conductor 55 is also comprised, in this particular instance, of thesame type of construction as conductor 50. The tail piece conductor is also provided with a plurality of compression crimps 57 (specifically two in this instance) which serve to provide the excellent holding power as described hereinabove. The tail piece conductor of course can be utilized for many purposes and may connect to an adjacent, opposite line, dead end; to a jumper connecting sleeve; to a line section switch or to otherwise appropriate connections. It might likewise serve as a tap off connector at a line termination.

It will therefore be seen from the hereinabove described construction that a dead end connector and the dead end connection provided by the use of this connector is disclosed with all of the resultant advantages which have been set forth in the objects hereinabove. The clevis or yoke type means of connecting the assembly to a support member in combination with the means of connecting the connector member to the clevis member provides a convenient universal joint type connection to the sup"- port member. The specific means of connecting the aluminum conductors disclosed herein by use of the aluminum connector member in combination with the barrier wall and grease and grit mixture results in the hereinabove stated advantages.

Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A dead end connector for conductors which consist of a plurality of aluminum and steel wires including in combination a clevis member which comprises first and second spaced side members connected together at one end by an end member andwall means at their other ends defining aligned openings, a pivot member located in said aligned openings and adapted to pivotally connect said clevis member to a support, wall means defining an opening through said end member extending in a direction generally normal to said pivot member, a generally cylindrically shaped aluminum connector member having first end portion thereof and on the opposite side of said connector member extending freely through said opening in said end member and having a head thereof larger than said opening to prevent removal of said connector member in a direction away from said pivot member While permitting turning of same about its axis, a member located on the outer surface of said connector member at said first end portion threof and on the opposite side of said end member to limit movement of said connector member in a direction toward said pivot member, said connector member having an axial opening extending thereinto from said first and second end portions and terminating at a barrier wall at an intermediate portion of said connector member, a grease and grit mixture in said axial opening on either side of said barrier wall, and a cover member covering said axial opening at both said first and second end portions.

2. A dead end connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said side members of said clevis member are integrally connected together by said end member and said member on the outer surface of said connector member is in the shape of a washer and is wedgingly held in place.

3. A dead end connector as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cover member is a plastic material.

4. A dead end connection including in combination a clevis member which comprises first and second spaced and generally parallel side members connected together at one end by an end member and wall means at their other ends defining aligned openings, a pivot member located in said aligned openings and adapted to pivotally connect said clevis member to a support, wall means defining an opening through said end member extending in a direction generally normal to said pivot member, a generally cylindrically shaped aluminum connector member having first and second end portions, said first end portion of said connector member extending freely through said opening in said end member'and having a head thereon larger than said opening to prevent removal of said connector member in a direction away from said pivot member while permitting turning of same about its axis, a member located on the outer surface of said connector member at said first end portion thereof and on the opposite side of said end member to limit movement of said connector member in a direction toward said pivot member, said connector member having an axial opening extending thereinto from said first and second end portions and terminating at a barrier wall at an intermediate portion of said connector member, a grease and grit mixture in said axial opening on either side of said barrier wall, a line conductor extending into said axial opening at said second end portion of said connector member and terminating at said barrier wall and said line conductor consisting of a plurality of aluminum and steel wires, a plurality of compression crimps on said second end portion of said connector for holding said line conductor in position, a tail piece conductor extending into said axial opening at said first end portion of said connector member and terminating at said barrier Wall and said tail piece conductor consisting of a plurality of aluminum and steel wires, and a plurality of compression crimps on said first end portion of said connector for holding said tail piece conductor in position.

5. A dead end connection as claimed in claim 4 wherein said conductors consist of a plurality of aluminum wires surrounding a central steel wire.

6. A dead end connection as claimed in claim 4 wherein said conductors consist of a plurality of interwound aluminum wires and steel wires with an aluminum coating.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,423,290 7/ 1947 Bonwitt 2,635,133 4/1953 Badeau 174-94 2,907,814 10/1959 Raila et a1. 174-79 2,966,541 12/1960 Gale 287- X 3,006,983 10/1961 McDurmont 17484 X 3,098,275 7/1963 Schweitzer 287-75 X 3,340,351 9/1967 Tiernan.

LARAMIE E. ASKIN, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

1. A DEAD END CONNECTOR FOR CONDUCTORS WHICH CONSIST OF A PLURALITY OF ALUMINUM AND STEEL WIRES INCLUDING IN COMBINATION A CLEVIS MEMBER WHICH COMPRISES FIRST AND SECOND SPACED SIDE MEMBERS CONNECTED TOGETHER AT ONE END BY ANE END MEMBER AND WALL MEANS AT THEIR OTHER ENDS DEFINING ALIGNED OPENINGS, A PIVOT MEMBER LOCATED IN SAID ALIGNED OPENINGS AND ADAPTED TO PIVOTALLY CONNECT SAID CLEVIS MEMBER TO A SUPPORT, WALL MEANS DEFINING AN OPENING THROUGH SAID END MEMBER EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY NORMAL TO SAID PIVOT MEMBER, A GENERALLY CYLINDRICALLY SHAPED ALUMINUM CONNECTOR MEMBER HAVING FIRST END PORTION THEREOF AND ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID CONNECTOR MEMBER EXTENDING FREELY THROUGH SAID OPENING IN SAID END MEMBER AND HAVING A HEAD THEREOF LARGER THAN SAID OPENING TO PREVENT REMOVAL OF SAID CONNECTOR MEMBER IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID PIVOT MEMBER WHILE PERMITTING TURNING OF SAME ABOUT ITS AXIS, A MEMBER LOCATED ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID CONNECTOR MEMBER AT SAID FIRST END PORTION THEREOF AND ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID END MEMBER TO LIMIT MOVEMENT OF SAID CONNECTOR MEMBER IN A DIRECTION TOWARD THE PIVOT MEMBER, SAID CONNECTOR MEMBER HAVING AN AXIAL OPENING EXTENDING THEREINTO FROM SAID FIRST AND SECOND END PORTIONS AND TERMINATING AT A BARRIER WALL AT AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF SAID CONNECTOR MEMBER, A GREASE AND GRIT MIXTURE IN SAID AXIAL OPENING ON EITHER SIDE OF SAID BARRIER WALL, AND A COVER MEMBER COVERING SAID AXIAL OPENING AT BOTH SAID FIRST AND SECOND END PORTIONS. 